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Under the license agreement, Presidio becomes responsible for all furtherdevelopment and commercialization activities and costs relating to theProgram. XTL will receive an upfront payment of $4 million, and up to anadditional $104 million upon reaching certain development andcommercialization milestones. In addition, XTL will receive a royalty ondirect product sales by Presidio, and a percentage of Presidio's income if theProgram is sublicensed by Presidio to a third party.
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Ram Waisbourd, Vice President of Business Development of XTL, commented:"We have great confidence in Presidio's ability to move the Program forwardrapidly. We believe that Presidio has a dynamic and experienced managementteam, and a solid scientific team headed by Dr. Richard Colonno -- who was amajor contributor to the discovery and advancement of several antiviral drugcandidates into clinical trials, two of which, atazanavir for HIV, andentecavir for Hepatitis B, are currently approved drugs."
Ron Bentsur, XTL's CEO commented: "We are excited about this licensingtransaction with a motivated and capable partner such as Presidio. Thistransaction allows us to solidify our financial position by bringing in $4million dollars in cash and eliminating the ongoing development expense of theProgram, while preserving a significant share in the Program's future success.We believe that this transaction extends our financial resources well into Q12009, and provides us with a financial cushion as we head towards thecompletion and announcement of results from the Bicifadine Phase 2b study,expected in Q4 2008."
The Program focuses on the development of novel small molecule inhibitorsagainst the Hepatitis C virus, and is presently in advanced stages of leadoptimization. The current lead compounds target NS5A - a viral protein that isessential for viral production. NS5A is distinct from the protease andpolymerase. The Program's lead compounds are highly potent inhibitors of viralreplication in the replicon assay, which is known to have good correlationwith clinical efficacy and is currently the leading method for preclinicaltesting of inhibitors of the Hepatitis C Virus.
ABOUT XTL BIOPHARMACEUTICALS LTD.
XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. ("XTL") is engaged in the development oftherapeutics for the treatment of diabetic neuropathic pain and HCV. XTL isdeveloping Bicifadine, a serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, forthe treatment of diabetic neuropathic pain, which is currently in a Phase 2bstudy. XTL has out-licensed its novel pre-clinical HCV small moleculeinhibitor program. XTL also has an active in-licensing and acquisition programdesigned to identify and acquire additional drug candidates. XTL is publiclytraded on the NASDAQ and Tel-Aviv Stock Exchanges (NASDAQ: XTLB; TASE: XTL).
ABOUT PRESIDIO
Presidio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical companyfocused on the discovery, in-licensing, development and commercialization ofnovel therapeutics for viral infections, including HIV and HCV. Presidio hasraised over
